JAVAKHETI IS FACING NEW PROVOCATION

Lragir.am
28 April 06

It is almost a fact that Javakheti has appeared on the
Russian-Georgian theater, though it is situated rather far from the
borders of both countries. However, sure enough, it does not hinder
Russians from transforming this region into an epicenter of
anti-Georgian movement. On April 26 the inhabitants of Javakheti
blocked the way of the armored radio communication car, which had set
off from the Russian Military Base 102, stationed in this city.

The inhabitants of Akhalkalaki say they blocked the way of the armored
car because it means the withdrawal of the military base has already
begun. The Armenians of Javakheti are dissatisfied because when
Russians leave, their life will become harder. Russia is skillfully
using this card to guarantee its military presence in Georgia through
the Armenians of Javakheti. However, the Russian policy seems to be
acquiring elements of a double provocation. On April 27 the Russian
Federation urged the Georgian government to guarantee the security of
withdrawal of the Russian military base. Mikhail Kaminin, a Russian
foreign ministry official, stated that Moscow waits for Georgia to
take necessary steps in Akhalkalaki.

Obviously Russia is calling Georgia for applying force against the
Armenians of Javakheti who protest against the withdrawal of the
Russian military installation. In other words, Moscow is asking
Tbilisi to punish the same Armenians who are reflecting the interests
of the same Moscow.

Sure enough, a trick is played on Javakheti, and the Russians are
exposing Javakheti to two dangers. The method of ethnic provocations
failed, now the relations with the Georgian government are
employed. In other words, facing the imminent reality of losing
military presence, the Russians want to make a maximum use of this
imminent reality. One can imagine Georgian forces trying to disperse
the inhabitants of Akhalkalaki, protesting against the pullout of the
Russian forces. One can also imagine Russian channels showing
videotaped images of cruel repression of Russia’s friends, people whom
the Russian military base gave bread, and the Georgian forces give a
strike. Fortunately, the Georgian government has neglected these
provocations so far.

The minister of internal affairs Vano Merabishvili announced that
Russia is responsible for complications that occur during the
withdrawal of the Russian military base. Merabishvili also guaranteed
that there would be no mass protests against the withdrawal of the
Russian military installations from Samtskhe-Javakheti. Nevertheless,
it is certain that the withdrawal of Russian military bases may cause
greater trouble than the past years of its stationing. At any rate it
is clear that there is a demand for government level provocations
along with the withdrawal, which means that the event on April 26 will
not be the last.

Who will benefit from this? This question should not interest the
people of Javakheti, for they should have known the answer of another
question ` who will suffer from these provocations. Moreover, the
answer of this question might become quite tangible in some time.

HAKOB BADALYAN

From: Sebouh Z Tashjian <[email protected]>
Subject: They Already Want Money

A1+

THEY ALREADY WANT MONEY

[04:25 pm] 28 April, 2006

Today the Committee Regulating Public Relations convened a session to
discuss the application of the company `Yerevan
Water’. According to the application, the company offers to raise
the tariffs of water to 172.8 AMD instead of 125 AMD.

The Committee decided to postpone the session for a month because of
the unfinished processed in the contract between the company and the
RA Government. Let us remind you that in 2005 a competition was
announced the winner of which would take care of the water supply of
Yerevan. The winner was the French organization `General des
eau’ which created the company «Yerevan Water».

It is noteworthy that the company has not yet started its activity in
Armenia but has already managed to send an application to raise the
tariffs of water. The company has signed an agreement for ten years
and has taken up the commitment to make an investment of 17.6 million
Euros. By the way, in the contract they promised to raise the tariffs
to 172.8 AMD for the coming three years. After three years the tariffs
were to be reduced every year and to reach 75 AMD.

Azeri soldiers to stand trial for spying for Armenia

Turan news agency, Baku
28 Apr 06

Four Azerbaijani soldiers will soon stand trial for treason, Turan
news agency reported on 28 April.

The court of serious military war crimes held a preliminary hearing
into the case of four privates accused of having delivered secret
information to Armenians, the agency said.

The trial is scheduled for 4 May, the agency added.

Turkey’s Yerlikaya wins gold medal at European Wrestling Championships

AP Worldstream; Apr 27, 2006

Defending champion Hamza Yerlikaya of Turkey won gold in the
96-kilogram Greco-Roman division at the European Wrestling
Championships on Thursday.

Russia’s Varteres Samourgashev rallied from a period down to defeat
Aleh Mikhalovich of Belarus in the 74-kilogram class. While the
60-kilogram title went to Karen Mnatsakanyan of Armenia, who
outclassed Georgia’s David Bedinadze.

Yerlikaya, a two-time Olympic champion, defeated Mykhail Nikolayev of
Ukraine 10-0 for his eighth title in 11 seasons, although the previous
six were at 85 kilograms. His only world title came last season.

“None of the matches today has been easy for him (Yerlikaya),” Turkey
coach Memet Acak said. “All the opponents were motivated to defeat
him, and it made this gold medal more precious.”

Samourgashev, the 2000 Olympic and two-time world champion, struggled
against Nikolayev in the first period, losing 7-0 with two warnings.

“One more (warning) and I would have been disqualified,” Samourgashev
said. “He (Mikhalovich) waited for that instead of trying to win
himself. By that time, I was in control. I did my trademark move and
earned three points.

Mnatsakanyan, the 1997 European junior champion, didn’t concede a
point in the final to win his first major title in 11 years.

Four more Greco-Roman finals on Friday will be followed by the men’s
freestyle events on the weekend.

ARAM KARAPETYAN WANTS AIRTIME

Lragir.am
28 April 06

On April 28 the rally and march organized by the leader of the Nor
Zhamanakner Party (New Times) Aram Karapetyan went on in the rain. The
rain, however, did not appear to have a big role. `The rain is not an
obstacle. We stood pressure, we can stand the rain too,’ said Aram
Karapetyan. To prevent rumors about the number of ralliers, Aram
Karapetyan announced in the end that as many people were present as
required for a march.

And before that the leader of Nor Zhamanakner said he would bring the
struggle over to its logical end. Aram Karapetyan informed that by
marching past the Police and the National Security Service they wanted
to say, `do not enter political processes. You cannot become Robert
Kocharyan’s and Serge Sargsyan’s aides. You cannot obey the caprices
of one or two people.’ Aram Karapetyan again demands airtime, he says
he is ready to pay for airtime, and asks the leadership to give him
airtime if the leadership think he will lose votes in case he appears
on air. Whereas, `they know well that if I appear on air for half an
hour every week, several weeks later a surge of revolution would rise
in Armenia.’

The participants of the rally adopted a message and extended it to the
Police of Armenia (namely, Colonel Minasyan, Assistant Chief of the
Headquarters of the Police) and the National Security Service
(Lieutenant-Colonel Vahagn Harutiunyan, Department of Defense). The
protesters chanted `get out of politics’ and `shame on you’ until
extending the message.

The rally and march were approved. Probably, it was the reason why the
policemen were not rude, moreover, they were attentive and careful,
and even very nice. Aram Karapetyan has announced for several times
that he has agents in various government agencies. Perhaps one of
these agents informed him that during the march eight cars with
special operational forces `arrived’ at the residence of the president
of Armenia. Baghramyan Avenue was not included in the itinerary of
Aram Karapetyan. The next rally will probably take place in the
community of Nork, and will demand airtime.

Moldovan leader to meet US vice president in Vilnius on 3-5 May

Infotag news agency
28 Apr 06

Chisinau, 28 April: Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin will take part
in a summit of leaders of the Baltic and Black Sea regions which is
due to take place in Vilnius on 3-5 May, the presidential press
service has told Infotag.

The participants in the summit will discuss such issues as Europe and
new democracies, NATO’s role in strengthening democracy and extending
democracy in Southeastern Europe.

At the summit, Voronin is due to have a number of bilateral meetings,
in particular, with US Vice-President Dick Cheney and EU High
Representative for Foreign Affairs Javier Solana.

The summit will be also attended by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer, by Georgian, Azerbaijani, Ukrainian, Bulgarian,
Estonian, Romanian, Lithuanian, Armenian and Polish presidents, as
well as by representatives of the Austrian, Danish, German, Swedish,
Finnish, Spanish, French, Belgian and British authorities.

Azeri pressure group urges war for Karabakh

Azerbaijani news agency APA
28 Apr 06

Baku, 28 April: The Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) issued a
statement today condemning Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan’s
visit to Xankandi [Stepanakert], the KLO press service has told APA.

In its statement, the KLO described Oskanyan’s visit to Karabakh as
Armenia’s position on the conflict. “The Armenian foreign minister’s
visit to Xankandi [Stepanakert] at the current stage of the talks
proves that they have no intention of giving up their aggressive
policy. And this negates the desire and hopes for the continuation of
the talks,” the statement said.

The KLO demanded that the authorities stop the talks [with
Armenia]. “Taking account of Armenia’s position, Azerbaijan should
halt the talks and start an anti-terrorist operation to liberate the
occupied territories by war. No state can deprive Azerbaijan of this
right.”

PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Website:

AT THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY

PRELATE AND REPRESENTATIVES PRESENTED WITH PROCLAMATIONS AFFIRMING THE
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

As it has done in previous years, this year too, the California State
Assembly had on its agenda the issue of the Armenian Genocide at its
Thursday, April 27 session.
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, departed for
Sacramento on Thursday to attend the opening of the State Assembly’s
session. Also present at the opening was the Honorable Gagik Giragossian,
Consul General of the Republic of Armenia, and Armenian National Committee
representatives Armen Carapetian, Aida Dimidjian, and others.
The Prelate conducted the opening prayer and delivered his
message to Senate and Assembly members.
On this occasion, the Assembly has issued a proclamation
affirming the Genocide of Armenians by the Turkish government, which they
officially presented to the Prelate, the Consul General, and ANC
representatives. Later on, during the general session, there was a moment
of silence for the 1.5 million victims of the Genocide.
The Prelate reminded the Assembly of the injustices committed by
the Turkish government, which to this day go unpunished, and expressed hope
that following the example of European governments, the government of this
great nation too will recognize the Genocide and demand justice.
During the session, it was touching to see the students of
Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan Armenian School and their teachers, with whom
the Prelate and representatives had an intimate discussion.
Let us remember that Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger proclaimed
April 23-29 `Days of Remembrance’ of the Armenian Genocide.

Washington File, DC
April 28 2006

Report Cites U.S., EU, Eurasian Counterterrorism Cooperation
Terrorist threat increasingly seen as internal, State Department says

By Jeffrey Thomas
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – Europe and the United States continue to work in close
partnership to counter the terrorist threat, a threat that
increasingly is seen as internal, according to the State Department’s
annual terrorism report.

European Union (EU) member states remained `strong and reliable
partners’ and Russia continued to intensify its bilateral
counterterrorism cooperation with the United States and to play a
leadership role in multilateral fora, according to the Country
Reports on Terrorism 2005 released April 28 in Washington.

As for the Caucasus and Central Asia, the report says progress was
generally the rule with the exception of Uzbekistan.

A key concern, the report says, is the terrorist activity and the
presence of terrorist support networks in Europe. `Efforts to combat
the threat in Europe were sometimes hampered by legal protections
that made it difficult to take firm judicial action against suspected
terrorists, asylum laws that afforded loopholes, inadequate
legislation, or standards of evidence that limited the use of
classified information in holding terrorist suspects.’

The report also cites legal difficulties with the new EU arrest
warrant in some countries, the ability of terrorists to travel easily
between certain EU countries and EU reluctance to block the assets of
charities associated with Hamas (also known as the Islamic Resistance
Movement) and Hizballah, both of which the United States designates
as terrorist groups.

Several new bilateral agreements bolstered U.S.-Russian
counterterrorism cooperation in 2005, including an
information-sharing agreement on man portable air defense systems
(MANPADS, or shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles). (See related
article.)

Other positive developments included a counternarcotics memorandum of
understanding and an agreement between the FBI and the Russian
Federal Security Service that has created a `highly productive joint
counterterrorism operational capability,’ the report says.

The report also cites Russia’s role in proposing and securing the
enactment of the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts
of Nuclear Terrorism and Russia’s regional leadership in combating
money laundering.

Regarding the war in Chechnya, the report cites the addition of
terrorist Shamil Basayev to the Chechen separatist leadership
structure as bolstering Russia’s contention that the Chechen
insurgency is terrorist in nature.

CENTRAL ASIA

In Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is deemed `a dependable and outspoken
ally,’ while Kazakhstan has improved its counterterrorist laws and
stepped up cooperation, according to the report. Tajikistan has
`offered its limited resources to assist the United States
unconditionally.’

Even though there is a lack of formal cooperation on counterterrorism
between Turkmenistan and the United States, the report states the
Central Asian country has granted blanket overflight rights for U.S.
aircraft supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan’s support for the global War on Terror, however, has
`eroded significantly due to the downturn in U.S.-Uzbek relations,’
according to the report.

One of the first nations to support U.S. efforts in the global War on
Terror, hosting U.S. military forces in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan beginning in 2001, Uzbekistan terminated its
agreement with the United States allowing use of the Karshi-Khanabad
base in July 2005. (See related article.)

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said after visiting
Uzbekistan in September 2005 that, while the United States and
Uzbekistan share common security concerns, the two countries “have
had a very difficult period in relations, complicated by grave
concerns regarding the human rights situation and events in [the
Uzbek city of] Andijan [in May 2005].” (See related story.)

The government of Uzbekistan, the report sums up, `increased security
forces to prevent terrorist attacks but failed to address the
conditions terrorists exploit to gain popular support and recruits
for their cause.’

In the Caucasus, Armenia `continues to strengthen its capacity’ to
counter terrorist threats and Azerbaijan has moved aggressively
against domestic terrorism while also actively supporting the
international efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the report says.

Georgia presents a more mixed picture. While Georgian security forces
continue to carry out operations to rid the Pankisi Gorge of
terrorists, Georgia’s borders remains porous because of corruption at
border checkpoints, according to the report.

This year’s congressionally mandated report uses a broader definition
of terrorism than previous reports, and its statistics showing a
sharply higher number of incidents are therefore incommensurable with
those of prior years. Only in future years will it be possible to
draw conclusions about trends with any certainty. (See related
article.)

Country Reports on Terrorism 2005 is available on the State
Department Web site, as is the regional overview (PDF, 43 pages) for
Europe and Eurasia.

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) prepared the terrorist
incident statistics included in the report. The 2004 Intelligence
Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act created the NCTC and designated
it the primary authoritative organization for global terrorism
analysis, including regular reporting requirements.

For additional information, see Response to Terrorism.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
)

Assyrian International News Agency
April 28 2006

European Parliament Meets Assyrian Politician on Assyrian Question

An official meeting of European Parliamentarians headed by Mr A.J.
Maat, representative of the European Human Rights Commission, and Ms
Attiya Gamri (Dutch Provincial Parliamentarian) and other members of
the European Parliament took place on 18-19 April 2006 in Europe’s
capital Brussels, Belgium. The meeting dealt particularly with the
situation of the Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac) people
in Iraq. After her visit at the beginning of April, Ms Gamri was able
to highlight in detail the obstacles and oppressive circumstances
that limit the freedom of the Iraqi Assyrians’ ethnic and political
rights. This is happening especially in northern Iraq, where there is
relative peace. However, the Kurdish political parties — by means of
Kurdish soldiers and militiamen — are manipulating the political
climate very aggressively, especially in regards to the Christian
Assyrians who have always been peaceful and have been seeking for
political and ethnic rights without the use of violence.

Mr A.J. Maat will present and discuss the fieldwork report made by
the Assyrian Delegation who visited the Assyrian regions of northern
Iraq this April at the upcoming European Parliament meeting. Mr A.J.
Maat asked about the percentage of money that has been donated to for
the reconstruction of Iraq by the European Community that’s has
directly reached the Assyrian minority. Ms Gamri promised to present
him the facts on this as soon as possible.

Besides the Iraqi issue also the worrying situation within Syria was
on the agenda of this two-day meeting. Of particular interest was the
issue of Mr Yacoub Hanna Shamoun, an Assyrian detainee in Syria for
more than 20 years without trial (in violation of all international
human rights conventions signed by Syria). On this case in the near
future an official request by the European Parliament will be sent to
the Syrian government. Ms Gamri discussed the situation of the
Assyrian people in Syria in general. She gave a brief report on the
past decades and the worrying future of the Assyrian presence in
Syria. The third main point that was on the agenda of this meeting
between the European Parliament and the Assyrian politician is the
Turkey File and the European Union. Mr C. Eurling has been requested
officially to include the recognition of the Assyrian Genocide next
to the Armenian Genocide whenever the debates mention this critical
point regarding the Human Rights Situation of Turkey and their
eventual succession to the European Union. This request was
immediately accepted by the European Parliament members.

Foundation Assyria Netherlands